Beleaguered
by Deadpool-kun
Summary: Future fic. When Aomine thinks his life is perfect, his world caves in. What should he do when his beloved husband, Kagami, doesn't remember anything but his very own name? Sequel to Linger.
1. Chapter 1

A fic for my friend, BloodStainedRabbit.

A sequel to Linger.

**Credits: **weirdgrammar & Mr. Bear; for being my editors.

**Warnings: **Future fic, yaoi, grammatical errors, simple language, and emotional roller coaster ride.

You've been warned.

* * *

Red.

Kagami could only see blazing red.

He breathed through his mouth, the wheezing sound escaped the oxygen mask he was wearing. His crimson eyes roamed around through the foggy goggles looking for any living soul left.

Then, he heard a faint voice from behind a closed door.

With the heavy fireman gear weighted down his body and a deep breath of determination, Kagami cautiously took another step forward to the voice through the blazing corridor.

The red blaze roared again, a great percussive howl tearing the very fabric of the air asunder.

Kagami wrinkled his face, and brought his hands up to shield his face from the scorching heat. Kicking the door open, he glimpsed a sailor-suited kid gripping a teddy bear, crying loudly near to a huge bookshelf.

His legs moved, but immediately stopped when his ears caught a loud creak. Kagami's eyes shot from the kid to the ceiling above her.

The ceiling was collapsing.

His rationality shut down momentarily, instinct kicked in, then everything slipped into watery motion. He pushed off his legs to the kid. A big step. Then, another big step.

The loud clanks of metals deafened his ears. The blaze roared again. His voice was blasting through his chest. The kid turned to him, and raised her arms. The teddy bear fell on the floor. Kagami lunged.

He stumbled towards her, pulling her into his arms. Kagami blanketed her small body with his muscular body, then looked up.

His wedding ring fell on the floor, faint clink rang in his ears.

One thought crossed his mind.

_Daiki._

* * *

Never in Aomine's life had he ran this fast before.

Still clad in his bulletproof vest and sweaty t-shirt, Aomine pushed his way through the crowds, butting shoulders, ignoring some curses flying past him.

The light was red, but Aomine couldn't have cared less. He stormed through the congested road. A taxi screeched into a halt, its honk pierced into his ears. Without sparing as much as a glance, Aomine swiftly climbed up its yellow hood, and landed on the pavement.

He continued his running.

Aomine had no idea how and why.

His day had started so great; waking up to a sleeping husband wrapping his arms around him with lines of soft light prying through the windows bathed his frame, listening to his calm heartbeat, and kissing his eyes.

And then, his husband had slowly cracked open his beautiful crimson eyes into his navy eyes with a tiny smile on his face, whispering softly; 'Morning, Daiki.'

His day had started so great; watching his husband put on his favorite blue apron to prepare them a decent breakfast, sharing a little laugh, squabbling over dinner, praising his husband for his tantalizing breakfast while the tv had segued into morning news.

And then, his husband had pressed a sweet kiss on his lips before off to his workplace.

His day had started so great; greeting his colleagues, garnering information on wanted criminals, hunting them down, and before the clock ticked nearly two, his team had tackled down another huge drug operation which they'd been working on for months.

His day had started so great.

So great that he couldn't ask for more.

Until one phone call from Midorima had destroyed them all.

_"Kagami was involved in an accident."_

One mere sentence, yet it'd almost stopped his heart.

Aomine had no idea how and why.

It was so perfect this morning, listening to Kagami's merry laughter, watching him rhapsodize over his duty as his navy eyes had discreetly slipped down to the silver band on Kagami's ring finger.

It was so perfect.

So perfect.

Then, one thought came across his mind; it was _too_ perfect.

_The calm before the storm_, Kuroko once had told him this; before the fallen of Kiseki members, as though his former shadow had foreseen they'd eventually drift apart. He'd paid no heed before, not the moment they'd escaped Kuroko's lips, not the moment they'd finally proven true, not until now.

And it was happening to him now.

Trapped in his jumbled thoughts, Aomine stumbled on the pavement, but managed to regain his balance. He looked up, breathing raggedly, hands on his knees, sweats streaming down his face.

The huge hospital building stood proudly before him.

"Taiga…"

Without wasting time, he dashed up to the hospital, navy eyes scanning the entrance, legs carrying to the counter while hands were pushing people away harshly in the line, mouth chanting 'Kagami Taiga, where's he?!' to the nurse, who seemed to be startled by his sudden ambush.

A familiar voice summoned him out of his brooding. Aomine turned around.

A pair of blank powder blue irises looked at him without blinking.

"Tetsu…" his voice cracked. Tanned hands reached out for Kuroko, and grappled his shoulders shakily. "Taiga… where's Taiga? I want to see him. Is he okay? What happened? Where's Taiga? Tell me! Tetsu, tell me!"

Kuroko placed a soothing hand on Aomine's broad chest. "Calm down, Aomine-kun. Kagami-kun is in stable condition."

"Like stable, _stable_?" he asked trembly.

Kuroko gave a small nod of confirmation.

Such a small gesture, one short movement, but it brought a huge surge of relief through him. Aomine draped his arm around Kuroko's shoulder, rested his head on the crook on Kuroko's shoulder blade, and let out a long breath that he'd been holding out of his conscious mind.

"God, I thought I was going to lose him."

Kuroko returned his embrace and patted his back, not uttering a word.

His unusual silence raised a question in Aomine's mind. Aomine pulled away from the warm embrace, throwing him a quizzical look.

Kuroko hadn't said a word, but Aomine's sharp eyes didn't miss a subtle look of lugubrious passing over his effeminate face before the usual blank expression reasserted itself.

"Hey, Tetsu, what's going on actually?"

"Walk with me," intoned Kuroko, gesturing to the elevator. "I'll show you Kagami-kun's ward."

Aomine stared at the smaller male questioningly for a moment. A sense of foreboding slowly crept up his neck, his heart hammering nervously. Too many questions lingered in his mind, and he was _desperate_ for an explanation, but a faint voice whispered to take Kuroko's offer.

Swallowing thickly, he nodded assent.

Every step they took filled Aomine with dread, yet he felt the time crawl excruciatingly slow. Their footsteps were echoing along the dark corridor. He could hear his heart thundering loudly in his ears every time they walked past ward after ward, thinking of Kagami. Then, he glanced up at the window on the door and saw a dying patient, death hovering unseen above them.

Aomine closed his eyes and whispered a prayer to gods for Kagami's life.

When he saw Midorima in a long white coat walk out of a ward with a file tucked beneath his arm and a forlorn look on his face, he assumed it was Kagami's room. Aomine ambushed him, grabbing Midorima by his shoulder.

"Taiga, how's he? Is he fine? Was it serious? Gosh, Midorima, tell me something!"

Midorima opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Exasperated, Aomine shook Midorima's body and demanded for an explanation. Kuroko came forward to stop Aomine, but Aomine pushed him away, and managed to catch a glimpse of his husband sitting in the bed, head bandaged up, in one piece, _awake_ even, through the window on the door as he did so.

His heart accelerated.

Ignoring Midorima's cries, Aomine burst into the ward in a heartbeat and leapt to Kagami's side. In a brief moment, he caught confusion and shock glimmering in the crimson eyes, but Aomine was too quick to pull Kagami into his embrace to care about it.

Kagami's warmth, Kagami's solidity, the reality, Aomine took his time to relish them all. He breathed in Kagami's citrus scent that fused with dim antiseptic and burning, and planted a kiss on his unruly crimson hair.

"Gosh, Taiga, I thought I was going to lose you! I'm so glad I was wrong. Seriously, my heart stopped when I got a phone call from Midorima. I couldn't think straight."

Kagami didn't respond.

"I beg you, Taiga, never do that again. Never do that again. Hear me? I can't imagine living without you."

Kagami didn't respond.

Instead, Aomine felt his body tense up inside his embrace. Premonition slowly lurking again in the corner of his mind, haunting him.

Hesitantly, he placed his hands on Kagami's shoulders, and looked down at Kagami's face.

The look Kagami was wearing startled him greatly.

Pure confusion, as if he'd never seen Aomine in his life.

"...Taiga?"

Kagami didn't answer, kept staring at him with those crimson eyes.

"Taiga?" this time, harsher.

There was a sullen silence before Kagami answered, or rather asked;

"Who are you?"

A plain question, complete with a quizzical look.

His stomach plummeted. Kagami's polite tone rang profoundly in his ears. Aomine studied his husband closely, from top to bottom, and his eyes slid up to the bandaged head.

Realization came to him. A sinking feeling crept into his stomach. The silver band felt so cold against his ring finger.

Aomine knitted his brows in exasperation, trying to shove the dreadful assumption away that taking its seed in his mind. He swallowed thickly, then barked out a laugh.

A bitter laugh.

"Taiga, stop this game. I don't like it."

Kagami shook his head. "I'm not playing games. I don't know you. Who are you?"

He scratched his throbbing scalp. The answer got stuck in his throat. Hearing such a simple question from his very own husband, 'who are you?', which he'd been heard almost daily spill out of traumatized victims' mouths in their dazed state stabbed daggers into his heart.

And Kagami's tone... He didn't like it. They'd been in love with each other for almost ten years, living together for almost five years, and married for two years, Aomine had taken so many tones from Kagami, from provoke to warm, and he could distinguish them all, but he'd never had taken this particular tone with him.

A very polite tone that Kagami often used to a complete stranger.

He reached out his hand for his husband to assure his cluttered mind and dread that coursed through his body, hoping his assumption was wrong, but when his fingers touched a patch of Kagami's skin, Kagami inched away with a jolt, completely throwing him off.

Kagami Taiga, his husband _rejected_ his touch.

His hand went limp to his side, and Aomine weakly took a step backward, staring at Kagami in a pained expression.

Aomine couldn't accept this.

He refused to accept this.

However, Midorima's explanation wouldn't let him.

"I've tried my best, Aomine, I really did," he could hear disappointment tweaking in Midorima's composed voice. "He sustained a severe concussion on his head, and apparently it damaged his brain. I didn't know he lost all his memories until he woke up, and it was Kuroko who first found it out."

Midorima kept on explaining, spurting out some medical terms he couldn't fathom, but it was fruitless anyway, because Aomine had long stopped listening to him. Everything went shut down as he zeroed in on his confused husband, who was fidgeting uncomfortably under his scrutiny, and certainly shifting further _away_ from him.

In the end, Aomine abruptly swung on his heels and left the room. He heard Kuroko call him out, but his legs kept moving on in a brisk stride of their own accord, bringing him away from the room, away from his husband, away from this nightmare.

It hurt him to see Kagami's confused look.

It hurt him to see Kagami rejecting his touch.

And it hurt him more to hear such a trivial question from Kagami in a very polite tone.

Anger, exasperation swamped him. Before he knew it, his hand threw a punch to the wall and a loud thud reached his ear. The hit felt like a sharp, immediate sting, and blood dribbled across his knuckles, his silver band, down to the floor. Aomine rested his forehead against the cold wall, and like his blood, he slid down to the floor.

A strained sob escaped him.

Then, he felt a gentle tap on his back.

It was Kuroko, and he knew it.

"Aomine-kun," he said softly. "Let's go back to Kagami's ward. He needs you."

"Leave me alone."

"Kagami-kun needs you."

"Just leave me fucking alone!" he snapped, whipping to his former shadow. "He doesn't even remember me, and you're telling me he needs me?! Laughable!"

"He might not remember you, but he's still your husband, and you're his. He needs you as much as you need him, Aomine-kun."

"Fuck it, Tetsu," his voice dropped. "Didn't you see him moving away from me? And that question, that tone, they hurt me! As if I'm a total stranger to him!"

"Yes, I did, Aomine-kun. But, as for now, we all are strangers to him."

Kuroko's words struck Aomine hard. He let out a groan.

"But, it hurts me, Tetsu. All I wanted to do was hug him, kiss him, assure him it'll be alright, but he doesn't let me."

He sounded so miserable.

Aomine slumped his side against the wall, his chest felt constricted because of the vest and strong emotions overflowing him. His ego repressed the tears that threatening to leak out of the corner of his eyes, not wanting to look vulnerable in front of his best friend.

Kuroko kept a blank look at the very picture of despair presented before his soothing blue eyes. He knew sympathy did nothing but injured Aomine's pride.

"Put yourself in Kagami-kun's shoes; me, and Midorima-kun, and Kagami-kun, your husband being strangers. What would you think and feel to be surrounded by a group of strangers and in the same time, you have no clue who you are, and what you are?"

Albeit the brooding beleaguered his mind, Aomine did the thinking. "Dunno. Lonely, I guess."

"I believe Kagami-kun is feeling the same," Kuroko toned down. "Lonely, and confused. Stay with him, and help him through this ordeal, he needs that. He needs your support. He needs his husband. He needs _you_. He saved you once, remember?"

His mind retreated to the high school days, when Kagami had brought his passion for basketball back to life. When Kagami had given him reasons to continue playing basketball. When Kagami had brought smile to his face again.

Aomine sighed exasperatedly, head thrown back, hand over eyes.

Kuroko gave him a firm look.

"It's time for you to save him."

* * *

**Author's note: **Because apparently, I'm one of those crazy writers who love to see this pairing suffer. (Don't kick me out of this fandom, bitte!)


	2. Chapter 2

Kagami didn't know what to think.

Literally.

The moment he'd opened his eyes in which he'd felt each weight tones, his body had felt so sore, and his throat scratchy, he'd felt so empty. He'd tried to recall what the hell had happened to him, and where the hell he was, as his head had throbbed that he'd thought it might explode in any second.

Then, it'd occurred.

He couldn't think of anything.

His brain, it'd felt so freaking empty.

Kagami could recognize things, like bed, or table, or even the lilies spilling over its bouquet on the nightstand table. In fact, after giving himself a few moments, he'd learned he was actually at a hospital, badly injured, bandaged up, hooked up with a myriad of droned humming machines.

But, he couldn't remember who he was, or anyone, or anything that related to him.

The only thing that remained stuck in his mind was his name; Kagami Taiga, and frankly, he'd doubted it was actually his name. But, knowing that he didn't remember anything else, Kagami couldn't help but cling to it—the only thing that he remembered about himself.

Furthermore, it'd been confirmed it was really his name when a light blue haired male had suddenly touched his hand, chanting 'Kagami-kun' repeatedly—since when had he been there anyway?

But, the problem was; _who the hell is this guy?_

The light blue haired male had kept asking him questions, caressing his face, as if he'd known him for so long up to some point he was allowed to touch him. Feeling uncomfortable, he'd courteously pushed the light blue haired male away and asked;

_"Who are you?"_

From his pained look, Kagami had thought, it was definitely a wrong question, and something bad had happened to him.

And his suspicious had grown stronger when a green haired doctor had moseyed into the ward, talking casually to him like they'd known each other for years.

Again, he'd repeated the question.

_"Who are you?"_

The doctor had looked so shocked, exchanged glances with the light blue haired male, and after that, the only thing Kagami had known was he was hounded by a bunch of strangers in white coat and uniform, one of the nurses, a guy with a black jet short hair, who had kept calling the green haired doctor 'Shin-chan', had spoken to him in a very friendly tone.

From the frown lines on their forehead, Kagami had reckoned, shit had happened.

And it was getting worst and ravel when a navy haired guy in a bulletproof vest had stormed into the ward, hugged him, kissed him, and a long, earnest confession had exploded out of his mouth.

So, he'd asked again.

_"Who are you?"_

Not once, but twice.

Kagami had guessed he shouldn't have done that.

That navy haired guy had looked totally broken, and somewhat it'd tugged at his heartstrings as well.

That navy haired guy had stared at him in a pained expression, stared at him, probably for the longest time he could remember, looked at him as if Kagami had just ripped his heart apart.

And then—then, he'd left.

There was a small part of his heart had lamented and begged so that navy haired guy stayed and pulled him into his strong arms again, but Kagami had remained dumbfounded to his spot, betrayed by his very own brain.

Kagami had figured that navy haired guy must be very important in his life, judging how frantic the light blue haired male had run to catch up with him. But, the wall was so fucking thick and the door had closed that he couldn't hear even a snatch of their conversation.

However, when the navy haired guy had appeared again in the doorway with bleeding knuckles, he'd felt a wave of relief surge through his body, and he didn't know why.

So, he'd dug deeper inside his brain for a reason.

And he was still digging while the doctor named Midorima Shintarou was asking him questions and that navy haired guy was sitting on the chair behind the doctor, crossed hands with his fingers tapping against his arms, looking at him with his sharp, keen eyes that sent cold chills racing down his spine.

When Midorima gingerly touched the marriage topic, Kagami could only respond with a 'huh?'

Midorima explained further and further, albeit it riveted far away from his duty as a doctor, mentioning briefly about his wedding, his family-in-law, his own family, and then about his husband.

And Kagami learned his supposed husband was the navy haired guy named Aomine Daiki, who was now leaning forward in his limited space seat, elbows on his knees with face buried in his hands, looking absolutely miserable and in agonizing pain.

Now that he knew the truth, guilty slowly seeped into his heart.

When the probing session—or so he called it—was finally over, and the grumpy doctor had taken his leave, leaving them with a heavy atmosphere lingering in the air, Kagami looked at his supposed husband, and he looked at him.

They stayed like that for a moment, locking gazes, before Kagami had to tear his gaze away from his, eyes dropping to his sweaty hands while murmuring; "Sorry."

_I didn't know_ remained unsaid.

A long, whistling breath escaped his husband.

"It's fine. Not your fault."

Somehow, it didn't mitigate his guilty at all.

* * *

The news spread like a wild fire. Face after face came appearing in the doorway, and Kagami felt so bad every time they had to take their time to introduce themselves when he gave them a confused look.

Like a pretty blonde guy came greeting him with a sunny smile, and gave him a super quick introduction about himself, and his fiance—who his name was Kasamatsu, he believed—within less than ten minutes before excusing themselves to rush to the airport.

His guilty piled up when a short guy with fiery hair and heterochromatic eyes, dressed in elegant kimono, a dangerous aura about him, came giving him a short, customary introduction, then disappeared into a long limousine.

And it increased tenfold when a tall guy with a goofy smile that seemed to plaster forever on his face—that guy was called 'Kiyoshi-senpai' or something like 'Iron Heart'—spoke to him warmly as if they shared a very great friendship with each other.

"Don't worry, don't worry. I'm positive you'll regain your memories again," said the Kiyoshi guy while chewing on Colon Snacks noisily.

Kagami threw him an inquiring look, eyeing the snack in the Kiyoshi guy's large hand.

"Aomine will definitely help you."

His shoulders drooped low.

* * *

Ever since he'd been awake, Kagami often found Aomine looming over him; either leaning his back against the door while waiting for his medical check-ups finished, or sprawling uncomfortably on the small chair while carefully unfolding his past, _their _past.

Aomine told him his job as a cop, or more accurately one of SWAT team officers, Aomine told him his own job as a fireman, Aomine told him about his family-in-law.

And he did it words by words—tactfully, no less.

There was a voice in Kagami's ears whispering, convincing him, Aomine was definitely in love with him.

And from the little movement Aomine did proved them all.

Kagami was conflicted reconciling Aomine's feelings for him and his feelings for Aomine.

How about his love for Aomine? If there was a chance he'd really loved Aomine before, then, how about now?

He didn't know what to do.

* * *

A red-devil-colored IPhone was sliding on the table towards him, which Kagami successfully caught it with his hand right before it landed on his laps. He shot Aomine a question look as he watched him perched himself on a plush chair next to his bed.

"Yours. Your chief took it from your locker at the workplace. Figured you might wanna have that by your side," Aomine reclined on the chair.

"Thanks," he murmured as he examined the phone back and forth.

His eyes fell on the wallpaper. He saw two guys, whom seemed to be very happy and close to each other. The guy with navy hair smiled into the kiss while placing a peck on the crimson haired guy's cheek, whose had a broad joyful grin on his face.

Kagami figured the navy haired guy was his husband, Aomine Daiki, and the crimson haired guy was supposedly him, except the fact that he felt he wasn't _him_ despite the same look.

The crimson haired guy inside the picture seemed to be in love with Aomine, even allowing him to enter his vicinity and pecking his cheek, while here he was, inclined to fidget away every time Aomine inched closer to him.

He bit his conflicted feelings, and unlocked the phone, thumb smoothly punching the password.

His phone lit up, and then it came to him.

"Aomine, can I ask you something?" he began shakily.

"You're welcome to ask me anything."

Kagami was silence at first. "What is 3108?"

He thought he'd asked a taboo question looking at Aomine's surprised look, then his worries melted away when Aomine opened his mouth.

"Why?"

"No... It's just that... My finger just moved its own keying in the password, so I thought it must be very important to me before that even my finger remembers it."

"Oh."

Kagami waited for his answer with a hopeful grimace.

Aomine hummed.

"It's actually August 31st, my birthday."

Kagami felt a hard blow punch him in his gut.

* * *

Kagami shifted in his seat, peering into the crowd that thronged the hospital cafe to watch an old lady resting her head on an old man's shoulder, a wide warm smile pulling up her wrinkled cheeks. The old man, then, held her hand, and kissed her grayish hair. Some visitors, who walked by, smiled softly at their public affection.

He felt his chest constricted, and brought his morose gaze back to the table.

A faint thud of a canned drink on the table snapped him out of his gaze. Kagami swept his gaze up from the table to a pair of piercing navy eyes, his eyes didn't miss the silver band twining perfectly around the tanned ring finger.

"Here, Pocari for you," said Aomine.

"Thanks."

The chair rattled against the floor as Aomine dragged it backward. He sat down, his thick sweater rustling as he moved. Aomine tapped his fingers against the table, brows were knitted in silence contemplation.

Kagami watched Aomine over the mouth of his canned drink.

"Your dad is coming over from LA next month," Aomine began, shifting his weight to one elbow on the table.

"My dad? From LA? What's he doing there?"

"He's working there, and lives there too. Permanently, it seems," he paused briefly. "You used to live there as well. Until you graduated from middle school."

A long breath escaped Kagami at the newly found epiphany. "So, it means we didn't meet each other until high school?"

Aomine gave out a short laugh.

"No."

"Oh."

Aomine leaned closer across the table, looking into his eyes. "You sound disappointed."

He backed away a little, feeling uncomfortable under Aomine's intense scrutiny. "No... It's just... different from what I've been imagining."

"Wanna share your imagination with me?" Aomine retreated back to his seat, to his relief. However, in a split second, Kagami caught pain slipping to his tanned face before molding into an encouraging look.

"I thought we're childhood friends, or something like that," he toyed with his drink vacantly, trying to ignore the prick guilty jabbed into his heart. "I saw those pictures in my phone gallery, and it seems that we were so happy, and shared great times together. A great story usually start with a great prologue, don't you think?"

His mind went to his red-devil-colored IPhone. He had removed the password, because every time he'd punched the numbers, guilty would slice his heart. So, he did what he'd thought what was the best to do, removing them completely—of course, without Aomine's consent.

Aomine scoffed. "Then, our love story is unique and weird, because it started with innuendo and insults instead of doki-doki feelings. You can ask Tetsu about it. He knows about it—_too well_, I should add. He's practically our cupid, but without bow and arrows."

Kagami quirked a brow up.

"I'll guide you through the memory lane later," Aomine closed the topic. "Midorima told me you can go home next week."

"He told me that as well," an image of the grumpy doctor sprung into his mind. "Is he always that grumpy?"

"Midorima? Kind of. Even I can't really stand with him. But, he's a good guy, so I've got no problem with him. And his mood always gets better whenever Takao is around."

Kagami hummed into his drink.

"I'll fetch you up later," continued Aomine. "We can drop by my parents' house. They've been so worried about you since they heard the news."

He swallowed thickly at Aomine's suggestion.

Aomine let out a sigh. "Don't look so dejected. I'm sure they'll understand. I've explained to them."

"I'm sorry to say this, but they're strangers to me. Most probably I'll go awkward being around them."

"Hey, Taiga," Aomine placed an assuring hand on his shoulder. "You've got me. I'll help you, 'kay?"

A thick lump formed in his throat, and his chest swelled. Kagami bit his bottom lip. "...Thanks... And sorry in advance for the trouble."

Aomine smiled.

"Idiot, don't call it 'trouble'. I'm your husband, and I'm supposed to help you in any ways I could help. Always remember that I'm doing this because I love you."

The bitterness of Aomine's smile struck him hard. Hearing 'husband' and 'I love you' in one sentence tumble off Aomine's lips consolidated his conflicted feelings. And knowledge of meeting his family-in-law didn't abate his discomfort either.

Kagami chewed on his inner cheek trepidatiously.

* * *

His heart was beating faster and faster as the car zoomed into a neighborhood. Kagami didn't say a word, nor did Aomine. Kagami stole a sidelong glance at Aomine; he looked so calm and casual.

Upon arriving Aomine's residence, he saw a middle-aged woman stand rigidly near the gate, her waist-length navy hair swaying in the breeze, and a tall muscular man with distinct sun-kissed skin place an arm around her shoulder protectively.

They must be Aomine's parents, he assumed.

The car was finally pulled over, and Kagami dithered about opening the door.

"They won't bite you," assured Aomine, unfastening Kagami's belt. Kagami flushed at Aomine's little help. "Come, let's greet them."

Steeling himself, Kagami stepped out of the car. The woman motioned forward an inch, reaching out her hands, but immediately stopped on her track, bringing her hands back to her bosom when Kagami shifted away.

Her face crumpled up, unbeknownst to her, striking Kagami with guilty.

"I'm...sorry," he stuttered.

Way to break the ice.

She smiled forgivingly at him. "No, it was my fault. Daiki has told us everything about your condition. I should've remembered it before suddenly hugging you, Taiga-kun."

The tenderness in her voice sent coldness clenching his stomach. She was his mother-in-law, he chastised himself, she deserved it—which was funny, he thought, because Aomine was _more _than _deserve_ to have his love, yet he wriggled away from his very own husband, and now he was debating about hugging Aomine's _mother_.

Kagami bit his bottom lip in determination. Despite himself and his trembling body, Kagami breached her, and gave her a hug.

He felt her startled in his embrace, but she returned it warmly in spite the large built Kagami possessed. She tiptoed and brought her hands up to his head, and he felt tinglish when she ghostly touched his stitched wound. Her embrace tightened, a sniffle was heard, and she whispered encouraging words into his ears, saying 'it'll be alright'.

Kagami felt vulnerable, and somehow, _wistful_ being inside her dainty arms.

Releasing her, Kagami was greeted by a firm handshake from Aomine's father—which he'd been reluctant to accept at first, but the look Aomine had given fostered him up.

"I hope you'll regain your memories again soon," said Aomine's father in his deep growl. "We'll help you anything that we could."

He was touched by their kindness and warmness.

"...Thank you."

* * *

Aomine ambled across the living room to the kitchen, his eyes locked in on his husband, who was flipping through the pages of their wedding album while his mother patiently explained to him in her soothing voice.

That disbelief look... Aomine's face contorted in pain to see a disbelief look that seemed to etch on Kagami's face forever.

He knew it must be hard for Kagami to perceive them within few seconds before his mother switched to another set of pictures—_he fucking got that_—but, he couldn't help feeling little hurt inside at the subtle rejection surfaced on Kagami's face, as if he wasn't belonged inside the picture, or this house, or by his side.

Somewhat, the distance between them became greater and greater every time Aomine tried to close them.

Aomine let out inaudible groan, and supported his weight with the heels of his palms that rested on the top counter of the kitchen. He gazed at the cold, blackish granite counter morosely, and sniffled.

He wondered how long he could stay survive from this nightmare.

Footsteps came closer, and Aomine quickly rubbed his running nose with the back of his hand to his sweater. He rounded to his father, who was leaning his side against the door frame with bulky hands crossed over his chest.

His father stared at him wordlessly.

Aomine felt naked and exposed under his father's intense stare, but not that he could rebuke it since that's what exactly he inherited from his father.

"What?" he growled at his father.

His father remained silence for a moment. "Can you stay strong for Taiga?"

Aomine averted his gaze away.

"Yeah. I must stay strong for him."

"_Can_ and _must _are two different words."

"Same difference."

"No," his father shook his head. "Different in semantics."

"Dad, I don't understand big word," he traipsed in his father's direction.

"Yes, you do," that halted Aomine just right next to his father. For a moment, Aomine just realized he'd grown few inches taller than his father as he looked at him questioningly. His father continued; "In fact, you understand it better than any language geeks in this world. Maybe not now, but soon, you will."

Aomine resumed his walking.

"Always know that we are here, _brat_. And I'm sure Taiga's father would say the same, too."

He murmured peevishly; "I'm not a brat," and walked away.

Well, at least his father knew how to wrench him out of his brooding.


	3. Chapter 3

Night had come greeting the world by the time they'd excused themselves from his parents-in-law's house and gone back to their place.

His house—or he should call it, their shared apartment—was surprisingly decent.

Completed with basic necessities; a cocoa-colored coffee table, a plushy cream L-shaped sofa, a tv, a set of stereo, a kitchen that attached to the living room, a rosewood dinner table with four chairs separating the living room and the kitchen, one bathroom, and—Kagami cringed—a master bedroom.

It was striking in its stark simplicity.

But, the new environment didn't scare Kagami at all.

What scared him the most was how smooth his movement was, waltzing into the apartment, dumping his wallet to the table, switching on the tv, washing his hands, opening the refrigerator, taking the milk, and gulping it down in one go, like he'd been repeating the same routine that his body could move of their own accord without any instruction from his brain.

And the sourness of the milk jolted him out of his routine. Kagami reflexively went to the sink, spitting out of its remains and washing his mouth.

He peered closer at the milk.

"The hell? What is a spoiled milk doing in your refrigerator?"

Aomine placed Kagami's bag he'd been carrying on the sofa. "_Our_ refrigerator," he corrected. "Take-out a lot, so I didn't check the refrigerator. You should've checked the date before drink it."

He bit back his wince at Aomine's correction. "At least throw the spoiled food away," muttered Kagami under his breath, and rubbed his drowsy eyes, feeling tired from having his brain squeezed hard by Aomine's mother. Too many information piling up inside his empty brain that he couldn't collect them into coherent whole anymore.

Kagami heard Aomine chuckle softly at him. "What?"

"You look like a kid who just finished his math test. Should I ask you how was your test?"

"Horrible. They should ask me 1 + 1 gives what, instead of asking x + y is equal to z, and what is the value of a," he deadpanned. "TMI, I think it's overloaded."

"Guess Mom really overdid it," Aomine disappeared into the master bedroom for a few minutes, then appeared again with a pillow and blanket in his arms, chucked them to the sofa. "Take the bedroom. I'm sleeping here."

Kagami was taken aback by Aomine's offer.

"But, it's your bedroom, and I'm just a guest—"

"—You're not a guest!" he snapped, sending Kagami shiver racing down his spine. Aomine's furious look melted into apologetic, heaving a sigh. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to snap at you," he cleared his throat. "I mean, it's _our_ bedroom, and you should sleep there so you could get familiar with our place. But, I doubt you'd want us to sleep together at this moment, right?"

Kagami felt bad for subconsciously letting that word slip. Of course, he wasn't a guest—_he knew that_, but his brain kept reminding him this place was still too alien for him to be claimed as his house although it'd etched to his body's memories.

And that feeling grew stronger when Aomine drove him one-sided bargain, obviously favoring him more than Aomine himself.

And he hated his brain when it sent an instruction to his mouth to say 'okay'.

...

Aomine stared ahead at the blackish ceiling above him with a hand over his forehead, his back on the plush sofa, the blanket draped over his body messily.

With the dimmed light filtered dustily through the windows, the living room seemed to be so ominous, and the ugly feeling crept up on him _again_.

The very same feeling when Kagami was admitted to the hospital days ago.

_Loneliness._

He thought it'd vanish once Kagami stepped into the apartment again, chasing them out with his strong presence and warmness, but it turned out the same.

Even worst, actually.

Loneliness clenched his chest tightly, and Aomine felt pain coil in his stomach. He resented himself for snapping at Kagami earlier, but in the same time, hurt to hear the word had slipped from Kagami's mouth.

_Guest. _

Rejection screamed loudly behind the simple word. Kagami still preferred himself as a guest in his very own house. It made Aomine ponder who he really was in Kagami's mind. _Just a friend, perhaps? _His hand clutched his heart thinking of it.

Before, while Kagami was still admitted to the hospital, he'd felt the bed was so freaking empty and spacious, but he'd blamed it on its queen size.

And now, he was feeling the same thing, empty and _spacious_ in spite the limited area, and he had to cram his large built into an awkward position, long legs dangling over the arm of the couch.

No way he could blame on its size now, could he?

Aomine sniffled loudly and wiped his tears pooling at the corner of his eyes. The wedding ring seemed to be tightening around his finger that it hurt him.

_Dammit..._

* * *

Walking out of the bathroom, Aomine was surprised to see his husband in a very familiar dark blue sweater, hand stretching out into the refrigerator, humming thoughtfully.

He took the white towel that draped around his neck covering his lips, humming dimly, eyes darting away before back to Kagami again.

"Taiga," he called out at just the right time Kagami backed away from the refrigerator with a bottle of mineral water in his hand, and his voice startled Kagami that he threw the bottle up in surprise with a small yelp.

The bottle landed on the floor with a loud thud, and Kagami turned to him.

Kagami's funny reaction prompted a laugh from Aomine. Kagami pouted, picking the bottle up again.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Aomine contained his laughter. "Morning, by the way."

"Morning to you too. Hope you don't mind me having this," he held up the bottle.

The pleasant feeling disappeared in the blink of an eye, replaced by hurt, and possibly annoyance. Aomine frowned at Kagami's (subconsciously) polite question.

"You don't need permission for anything in this house. They're yours as well," his tone was sharp and cold.

Kagami's eyes widened in both surprise and terrified, and realization dawned upon him he'd snapped _again_. Regret crawled up his spine. Aomine sighed, eyes dropping on the floor.

He rubbed the nape of his neck. "You can have it."

"Oh, okay," replied Kagami shortly.

But, Aomine could discern uneasiness hinting in Kagami's tone. He desperately racked his brain over to lighten the heavy mood.

One came. "Where did you get that sweater?"

"This?" Kagami's shoulders heaved up, eyes looking down at the sweater he was wearing. "I opened the closet, and before I realized it, my hand already took this one. Why?"

Aomine stayed silent for a second. "Nostalgia, I guess. You always wore that before, claiming it's your favorite sweater."

"Then, I'm taking it's mine."

Aomine pivoted on his heels towards the bedroom.

"Actually, it's mine."

He heard the same loud thud again, and Aomine knew Kagami was dumbstruck to his spot, rejection, or whatsoever expression that might hurt him set on his face.

Aomine let out a long breath. So much for lightening the mood.

* * *

Kagami wasn't born as an observant—as Aomine told him—so he didn't notice it at first.

And sometimes he could be pretty dense as well—the guy with light blue hair, who had very weak presence called him that, he believed his name was Kuroko Tetsuya and he was his supposed best friend since high school—that's why he didn't notice at first.

However, as days rolled on, he began to take a notice reminiscences of their living together littered around the apartment.

Every step he took brought him to another piece of evidence of their love life, like a picture of him and Aomine laughing together that rested on top of stereo set, or a note written in scratchy handwriting, saying 'Aho X Baka' on the refrigerator door, but they did nothing to stir up his memory.

When Aomine brought home a bag of cheeseburgers from Maji Burger one afternoon, telling him it was his favorite, Kagami could only blink in disbelief at the mountain of burgers on the dinner table.

"Do I always eat this much?"

"It's actually half of your usual portion," Aomine took a seat across the table.

"Huh? Half of—what am I, a gluttony?"

"Well, you said you're proud of being a gluttony," he picked one of the burgers up.

"_I_ said that?" Kagami echoed. "When?"

"One of our first dates, back in high school days," Aomine hummed casually, thinking. "At okonomiyaki restaurant, and you ordered a huge okonomiyaki, telling me you'd had dinner there before with Tetsu, Kise, and Midorima, gossiping about me, then our conversation changed, talking about universe and portal, then out of sudden, you insulted my IQ."

His jaw dropped. Kagami had a hard time to believe this, accusing Aomine probably shitting him, but considering how easy and smooth it came out of Aomine's mouth, he reckoned it was the truth after all.

And it led him to a new conclusion; Aomine had never missed any details when it came to him.

Of course, it was so disheartening to know he didn't remember anything about himself, while Aomine could write a very long embarrassing, funny essay about him, which probably took him days to finish reading it.

* * *

While Kagami was still struggling to blend with his marriage life, another huge event came surprising him, and he found himself sitting rigidly on the hard wooden chair, sweaty hands clutching the jeans he was wearing, heart thumping loudly against his ribcage, bittersweet scent of coffee grazed his nose, eyes lowered demurely to the dinner table.

Nervously, Kagami brought his gaze up to a perfect copy of his own face, but older and more matured.

His father, who he'd long forgotten, came visiting him.

For the first time in Kagami's life, Kagami hoped Aomine stayed by his side to ease the rising tension in the air he'd created himself, which deep down, he felt so terrible for using Aomine even though he hadn't fully accepted Aomine as his husband.

But, Aomine immersed himself with magazines on the couch, respecting his family moment, he'd said.

Kagami mentally kicked Aomine for it.

"I'm not a ghost or dog to be afraid of, Taiga," his father suddenly spoke. His voice was rich and deep, akin to his own, but of course, fruity with experiences and maturity.

Kagami swallowed the thick lump in his throat. "No... This is odd, having you here, even though I know you are my father, I don't remember you at all."

His father leaned into his seat, a wry smile raised to his lips. "Now I understand why Daiki said it wasn't easy. It's not easy for me too, knowing my own son doesn't remember me."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, it was an accident after all. No one asked for it," his father shifted in his seat. "What else do you remember besides your name?"

"Nothing. I don't remember anything, and they haven't come although Aomine has told me a lot of things to help me jog my memory."

"You even called my son-in-law 'Aomine', instead of 'Daiki'."

That stabbed a knife into his heart. Kagami discreetly ran his gaze to Aomine, but it seemed Aomine didn't hear anything, navy eyes still glued on the page of the magazine.

Or most probably, pretended to, judging how stiff his shoulders became.

"Should we begin?" his father summoned him out of his depression thoughts. "What do you want to know about yourself?"

"Basketball? Aomine mentioned I played basketball. So, I want to know how I was introduced to it."

"That question is for Tatsuya, I believe."

"Tatsuya?"

"Himuro Tatsuya," answered his father. "He's your childhood friend from LA. He was the one who introduced you basketball."

"Where's he?"

"Here, in Japan. I'm sure Daiki has told him about your condition and he'll be coming over soon or later."

"I wonder how he looks like."

"From what I heard, composed, and can be very sneaky. But, he's a good guy," his father smiled. "Why don't we talk about your mother?"

"My mother?"

"Yes, your mother. She was a great woman," a wider smile stretched his father's lips.

_Was_. Kagami's mind went blank for a moment before senses snapped him back into reality. He looked at the rosewood table, clammy hands slightly trembling.

"What...what happened to her?"

"Died from cancer," the grin morphed into a bitter smile. "You moved here upon her last request, hoping you wouldn't forget your origin as a Japanese. Glad to see you grown up as a decent Japanese man."

Bitterness sliced his heart. Kagami bit his bottom lip.

"Did I get to see her?"

"Yes, you did. In fact, you spent more time with her than I did, accompanying her through her illness. You were her reason to stay strong, Taiga."

That explained the wistful feeling being inside Aomine's mother's arms. The feeling of being loved by a woman called mother, which he wouldn't have another chance to feel it.

Kagami buried his face in his hands. He desperately forced his brain to come out with an image of his mother, but only pitch-black came flooding in. He dug deeper and deeper, but he got nothing but throbbing scalp.

He hated this.

Knowing he once had shared so many great times together with his mother which he wouldn't experience it again, and now he couldn't recall any of them.

He hated this so much.

His body was trembling, and he felt his father's warm hand rest on his shoulder and another pair of strong arms loop around him soothingly. He heard Aomine's muffled voice, talking softly to his father, then whispering soothing words into his ears.

But, he didn't listen to them.

All he knew was he hated this so much.

* * *

From the reunion with his father, Kagami learned there was a huge difference between 'knowing' and 'experiencing'.

His father had installed him with his childhood memories, telling him their family moments; like how clinging he was to his mother when he was a child, his first word—which was 'eat', instead of 'ma' or 'pa'—his first birthday they'd celebrated, their first Christmas, his mother's first chemotherapy, his mother's first surgery.

Sure, it'd brought him bittersweet feelings, but he couldn't picture them vividly inside his brain because, _shit_, none of his memories had come back.

Kagami was still battling with his empty brain when he received another visitor—two visitors, actually.

"It's been awhile, Taiga," said a guy with black fringes hung over his left eye, a beauty mark located under his right eye, while a purple haired giant walked past them into the apartment, plastic bags rustling noisily as he moved, almost-inaudible 'hey, Mine-chin's husband' greeting escaped him.

"You're..." his voice trailed off as he watched the giant rummage around the refrigerator at the corner of his eyes, yet Aomine didn't do anything to stop at him at all—he even joined him fishing around the refrigerator and the plastic bags the giant carried.

"Tatsuya. Himuro Tatsuya, your childhood friend, or your brother, as you called me."

"Ah, yeah, Tat—Tatsuya," he felt awkward to call him by his given name. "Dad told me about you."

Himuro let out small chuckles. "You don't have to push yourself, Taiga. You can just call me Himuro. By the way, please forgive Atsushi's manner, I mean Murasakibara Atsushi."

"Murasaki—what?"

"Murasakibara Atsushi," he repeated slowly, and pointed at the giant. "You can say he's Aomine's friend. They used to play basketball together, as a team before."

"No wonder Aomine doesn't mind seeing him rummage for food," he led Himuro to the couch courteously.

"Rest assure. Atsushi won't touch your food, he only likes sweets. Sometimes, it makes me wonder how did he grow up from eating sweets only."

"You...call him by his given name," Kagami pointed out. "Are you two that close?"

Himuro pulled a tiny, genuine smile. "Yes, he's my best friend since high school, and now my only lover. We're planning on getting married next year. We've had this discussion, Taiga."

Kagami fidgeted. "Is... that so? Congrats, I guess... And sorry, I don't remember..."

Himuro kept silence at first, then breathed out a sigh. "Even though you have your memories completely wiped out, you're still a Taiga who I've known for years."

"Pardon me?"

"Although it was clearly my fault for pointing it out despite knowing you've lost your memories, you still feel terrible for not remembering it. Still an angel, it seems, making me ask myself how the hell did I allow you to marry to a devil like Aomine," said Himuro with a tinkle laugh.

A protest shout from Aomine went up behind them.

Kagami ignored Aomine's protest. "Uhm... Mind telling me how you introduced basketball to me?"

"Sure, let's see where should I begin," Himuro rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "One day, my team was short one person. Then, I found you walking alone, so I asked you to join me playing basketball with me."

"As simple as that?"

"Yeah, but then we've become so obsessed with it. We even looked for a coach to teach us. Her name is Alexander Gracia, a kiss-freak, I must warn you."

He sweat dropped at Himuro's warning. "...note taken."

"We started to play every day, and became so close with each other. Then, one day you suddenly told me I'm like your brother, so I bought two rings as a proof of our brotherhood," he pulled out a silver ring that hung on a necklace from his shirt. "One for me, one for you."

Kagami's hand mindlessly went to his neck, only to find the necklace and ring weren't there. Panic thought flew across his mind, eyes looking for the ring.

"Check the closet," said Aomine suddenly with words disoriented by a lollipop, which Kagami assumed it was the giant's, navy eyes fixed on the Jenga tower standing unstable on the dinner table. "You keep your brotherhood ring inside the red box since we got married."

Kagami stared at Aomine vacuously as Aomine carefully pulled a block out of Jenga tower.

"Mine-chin, cutting into a conversation is no good," chided the giant.

"Shut up. Your turn, by the way. Can't wait to see you lose," he shot back arrogantly.

"I hate losing," murmured the giant languidly.

"Too bad, because the only one who can beat me is me."

Kagami continued watching his husband argue with the giant, quarreling over the Jenga tower. It was a new sight for Kagami to see Aomine acting so childishly arrogant.

"I knew Aomine is a bad influence for you," Himuro feigned a painful sigh, effectively snapping him out of his daze. "I should've never let you marry him after all. Oh, by the way, Taiga."

Kagami turned to Himuro questioningly.

"Where's your wedding ring?"

Kagami remained quiet before eyeing his ring finger.

No silver band.

"...I don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

**Credits** to Steve for rewriting my bad summary. Gotta fix that.

Patience is virtue, my dear friends.

* * *

It was sliding into November, and within these two agonizing months, Kagami began to believe he was actually living with a Grammar Nazi.

No, Aomine never bothered to correct his grammar or filter his words whenever a curse slipped out. In fact, Kagami could blurt out anything he kept in his heart without bothering to choose a wise word.

But, the fact that Aomine kept correcting from 'your' to 'our', or 'you' to 'us' irked Kagami to no end. It somewhat reminded him of his lost memories, as if now regaining his memories was the only reason for him to live.

Furthermore, Kagami was suffocated living under Aomine's constant watch.

He often found Aomine keeping eye on him, looming over him. If Aomine was off to work, he never missed giving him a reminder to not wandering alone. Even five minutes' parting ways, Aomine would send him a message to check on him. Once Kagami had missed replying his message, a minute later his phone had registered at least two dozens of missed calls from Aomine. Annoyed, Kagami had called him to end his and Aomine's misery, but Aomine's interrogation had worsened his mood.

Now, his anger came back consuming him as Aomine kept saying 'careful!', 'hey, watch out!', 'that knife!' from across the kitchen counter, refusing to leave him alone preparing their dinner in peace.

One more word expelled out of Aomine's mouth—'watch your hand, Taiga!', Kagami threw the spatula in his hand to the sink exasperatedly. He glowered at his supposed husband from behind his crimson-black layered bangs.

Seriously, Kagami was at his limit.

"Taiga?" he asked clueless.

"—Just stop it!" shouted Kagami at the top of his voice, catching Aomine off his guard. Kagami shifted his weight to the heels on his palms on the counter, head hung low. His voice dropped. "Just stop this shit."

Aomine remained clueless.

"I'm tired, okay?" said Kagami desperately. "I'm fucking tired with this shit, listening to your worry voice, your stupid reminders about not letting me wander off alone, your messages, your missed calls. Everything!" his cracked voice raised to another octave. "For fuck's sake, I'm a grown up man, not a kid! I don't need your constant watch!"

Aomine stayed silent for a moment. "But, I'm worried about you. You and your lost memories—"

"I tried!" Kagami cut him off with another yell. "I tried! I tried to remember everything! About my life, about my friends, about this marriage, about you! I fucking tried, tried, tried, and now I'm tired! Can't you consider my feelings, thinking about me, how tired I am with this confusing ordeal?! Seriously, I need a break sometimes!"

Kagami's voice dropped and wavered. "I'm sorry if I'm not your Kagami Taiga. I'm tired trying to be Kagami Taiga whom you know. I don't know who I was, I don't know who the hell _Kagami Taiga _is, and I don't know who I am anymore. This is so frustrating."

Gloomy hung in the air, droned with humming of the refrigerator.

Aomine kept an impassive look. "Then, what do you want to do now? What would you want _me_ to do?" his words were delivered in measured cadence.

Kagami heaved a sigh. "Just... just leave me alone."

If he was being honest, Kagami didn't mean his words as they slipped from his cloudy mind. Nonetheless, Kagami didn't bother to take back his words, fully convinced Aomine wouldn't take them seriously. He believed Aomine would never allow him to stay all by himself, being paranoid as he was.

However, the clink of house keys proved Kagami wrong.

Aomine was already on his motion to leave the house, grabbing his phone on the table, putting on a thick sweater while walking to the front door. Kagami opened his mouth to stop Aomine, but Aomine's next words halted him.

"I'll be back before midnight. I won't bother you till then, so do as you pleased," said Aomine without sparing Kagami a glance, tanned hand clasping the doorknob. "But, you can call me if you've got problems. I'll be there."

Kagami was still in his stupor when Aomine had already wrenched open the door, light from the corridor spilling into the house entrance. It wasn't until the soft thud of closing door roused Kagami from his daze.

He hung his head low, blinking back his tears and sniffling loudly. Kagami took a deep breath, took the knife and salad, proceeding to continue his cooking, trying his best to ignore the buzzing sound that grating in his ears.

...

Kagami was placing a bowl of rice when he heard the doorbell ring.

One thought ran across his mind.

_Aomine._

His chest felt warmer, and before Kagami realized it, he was already setting on his feet to answer the door. His hand quickly turned the doorknob, allowing the door to fling open. However, his face fell a little at the sight before him.

He was greeted by light blue hair instead of dark blue hair, and Kagami had to run his gaze down to level his eyes with the blank powder blue eyes.

"Good evening, Kagami-kun," said the guest.

Kagami hesitated. "Uh... 'evening. You are..." he began to rack his brain over for the guest's name.

"Kuroko Tetsuya, your and Aomine-kun's friend. I visited you at the hospital few times, remember?"

"Sorry," Kagami averted his gaze away from the light blue eyes. "It slipped from my mind. Too many crazy things happened today, uhm, Kuroko," he tried his best to roll the name on his tongue smoothly.

"No worries, I understand," his soft tone somewhat soothed Kagami's heart. "Aomine-kun has told me about the fight. Actually, he requested me to come over to check on you."

That sparked his anger again. "What? Can't he just—"

"Please calm down, Kagami-kun. Do not blame him for what his doing. He's your husband, Kagami-kun, natural if he's worried about you."

"But, he told you to come over! How could he bring someone else into this matter?! Telling you about everything and all!"

"Aomine-kun didn't tell me _everything_. Yes, he told me both of you have got into a fight, but not the subject or anything you've said or done to him. I do not know that. Also, Aomine-kun believes you need a companion, and he thought it'd be better if he asked me to accompany you while he's away. He even promised not to bother you as long as you have me as your companion."

Kuroko's explanation silenced him. Kagami dropped his head low, biting his bottom lip. _That Aomine..._ Then, he looked at his supposed best friend—if he wasn't mistaken—and shifted a little to provide a space for him.

"Uhm... Wanna talk inside?"

Kuroko didn't respond at first, sending nervous crawling under Kagami's smile. Then, he smiled.

He felt relief wash through his body when he saw the small smile of agreement on Kuroko's face. Kagami pushed the door wider and ushered him to the dinner table, gesturing him to take a seat.

"It looks tantalizing," Kuroko spoke again, eyes on the meal, settling on the chair.

"You can join me having dinner if you want to," Kagami pushed the chair across Kuroko and sat down. "I've prepared dinner for two," his voice dropped at the very last syllable.

Kagami caught a genuine smile spreading across Kuroko's face.

"We don't want the meal to be wasted, do we?"

With that, they started to dig in. Kagami noticed Kuroko taking a small bite each time—too small, he thought, unlike the usual adult portion. It made Kagami wonder if that was the reason why this light blue haired male had a petit, fragile-looking body.

"How about you tell me topics you do not want to bring up, as my reference, so in the future we won't get into such a topic?" Kuroko started a conversation.

"Why?"

Kuroko took a bite on the chicken breast. "I did some research about amnesia, and they mentioned about some topic the patient would like to avoid. It is understandable, though, the lost memories have put you under stress, and the beloved ones would give everything they have to regain them back and reshape you back to the old-self, while you're struggling to learn the life you don't know and recollect the missing pieces. It's maddening."

He continued. "As much as I love to help you regain your memories, but I hate to put you under the maddening stress. While Aomine-kun helps you jog your memories, I'll stay out of it, so if you're stressed with it, you can always find me to talk about something else. Not necessarily as Kagami-kun whom I know, but you can be whoever you want to be with me."

Upon listening to Kuroko, Kagami couldn't help but feel touched. Every words he uttered hit the bull's eye. The stress, his conflicted feelings, everything. He never thought he needed this, something like Kuroko's offer.

So, when it came, right in front of him, Kagami didn't waste time to snatch it.

"Then, can we not talk about my marriage life?"

Kuroko nodded assent.

"Not about the accident?"

He nodded again.

"About Aomine?"

Kagami could see a subtle reaction from Kuroko. Perhaps, Kuroko himself didn't see that coming. His pale face remained blank though, and Kagami was wondering if he was having an inner argument. Nonetheless, his head moved in a small nod, taking Kagami by surprise, too.

"Serious?" this time, it was Kagami to question Kuroko's decision.

"Yes, Kagami-kun," Kuroko pulled a tiny smile. "Although I know it'll be hard since Aomine-kun is my best friend as well, and I should support him; you need help, Kagami-kun. I'll tell him about this, and I'm sure he'll understand," then, he switched the subject. "So, how about your job now?"

Kagami blinked at Kuroko, surprised how easy Kuroko steered their conversation away. Then, he decided to play along. "Well, I've informed Chief about my condition. He said I could take leave at this moment until my body is fully healed. But, I have to start from the scratch, so I can get familiar with the situation."

Kuroko smiled. "If it's Kagami-kun, it'd be a breeze."

"Still," he played with his chopsticks sulkily. "I have to go through the training."

"No pain, no gain, Kagami-kun," Kuroko shifted in his seat. "In the meantime, how about joining me taking care of kids at my place?"

He raised a brow. "You a babysitter?"

"No," Kuroko shook his head. "I'm a kindergarten teacher. I think you'll be bored staying at home, so playing with kids at least could kill your boredom. Also, I need some help handling them."

Kagami hummed thoughtfully. "...sounds nice, too."

"Perhaps, there will be a chance to meet my girlfriend too."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Yes, Kagami-kun," it amused Kagami how low Kuroko's voice dropped at his remark, telling him he was frowning. "I do have a girlfriend. You know her too. Momoi Satsuki."

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"Make sense. She couldn't come visiting you before, busy with her new project..."

Then, Kagami continued listening, occasionally laughing at Kuroko's story about his girlfriend, about his job as a kindergarten teacher, about basketball, about everything, about nothing, but certainly not about Aomine.

Distraction.

Yes, he really needed this.

...

Aomine eschewed driving or catching a taxi to the nearest town, staunchly telling himself to travel by foot instead.

Cold wind of winter sliced his skin, but the ache inside his chest was too overwhelming he didn't care the temperature ambiance was, in fact, dropping lower and lower.

True, he and Kagami did have fights before, arguing till at some point, he'd spat curses in front of Kagami, then banged the door close behind him, and crashed to the bar. However, at this moment, they seemed to be so petty compared to this.

He thought his heart had stopped beating when he'd heard Kagami, his husband beg him to leave him alone.

What had he done to him Kagami asked him to leave?

Did he cross the limit?

Or Kagami had given up on regaining his lost memories?

But then, again, _if_ Kagami had already given up, what he could do to cheer Kagami up? Seriously, he couldn't recognize his very own husband anymore, and hell, he didn't know what to do to make him smile again.

Every time he peered at Kagami's face, all he could see was frown lines, and guilty, and discomfort. Every movement or words Kagami uttered screamed rejection. When they'd found out Kagami's wedding ring was actually lost—he hated himself for not noticing Kagami had never worn the ring though there Kagami was, standing in front of him, yet he'd let it slip from his eyes—he was surprised how calm Kagami was at that moment.

Well, Aomine reckoned Kagami was probably too shocked to even respond to Himuro's question. He kept telling himself that, albeit inside, Aomine knew it was a petty effort to soothe his heart.

A vibration in his pocket pulled him out of his numbing thoughts. Aomine fumbled inside his sweater pocket for his phone. Hope flared back to life, thinking it was probably Kagami.

His hope vanished when he read the caller ID.

Imayoshi Shouichi, his chief.

He answered the call, nonetheless. "What?" he asked grumpily.

Aomine heard his ex-captain slash current-chief snicker across the line. "How I've missed my cute kouhai's voice so much I could cry."

He could hear a voice booming at the background 'Is that Aomine?! Give the phone to me, I'm going to skin him alive!', another shaking voice screaming, 'Wakamatsu-san, I'm sorry, but you have to calm down! I'm sorry bothering you!', and another calm voice 'Imayoshi, don't announce you're calling Aomine', which sounded nearer compared to other voices. Aomine heaved a tired sigh. How he'd ended up sticking with his Touou team even after high school, in the realm of working and crimes no less, Aomine had no idea.

"Just tell me your point already," he said.

"I know you're man with firm priorities, but I received a report this morning."

"Which report?"

"From fire brigade department. Remember about the fire at Akibarahara street recently?"

One name came. _Taiga..._

"Yep, the one that Kagami was involved into," Aomine, being under Imayoshi-san's wing for so long, at this moment was no longer surprised how the hell that sly fox could read his mind. "Heard it cost him his memories. Ah, I wonder, how is he now, Aomine?"

Ugly feeling ate Aomine up listening to his chief chattering about the fateful incident. He couldn't care less if his chief's concern for Kagami was a fake or genuine. "What about that accident?"

He heard flipping sounds, then a low clack and creak, indicating Imayoshi-san was flicking through pages, shifting in his boss chair while cradling the phone between his shoulder and cheek. "Let me see... According to this report, one of the apartment unit was actually a homemade lab. An illegal drug lab, producing ICE. It was written that someone started the fire to destroy the evidence. The investigation is still on going, but I think we could lend them a hand, sharing some information we've garnered with them. How does that sound?"

His clutch on the phone tightened. He balled his fist until it became white. Knowing the accident was actually no accident surged anger through his body. Aomine thinned his lips.

"Fuck, I'm in."

Imayoshi-san snickered. "Knew you would."

* * *

Days after the fight, Kagami found Aomine sitting in front of the laptop, brows scrunching up while browsing through a set of pictures. Aomine looked so depressed, body bending forward to the laptop, navy hair tousled due to frequent scratching.

Suddenly, Kagami had the urge to place a soothing hand on Aomine's shoulders, whispering words into his ears. But, he repressed it, thinking it'd awkward. Instead, he made Aomine a mug of coffee and set it down on the table as gentle as he could to not surprise Aomine.

"Thanks."

Kagami's ears caught a dim whisper from Aomine. He looked up at Aomine across the coffee table, but Aomine didn't return his gaze. His navy eyes were still glued on the screen. Kagami felt guilty what he'd said to Aomine before. His brain was mauling over asking forgiveness from Aomine, but something evil residing inside him clamped his mouth shut.

After a minute of mental war, finally Kagami found his voice. "I... I'm going out with Kuroko later."

Even though a different topic came out, at least it prompted a reaction from Aomine.

Aomine raised a brow. "Where to?"

"His workplace. He said he needed a hand handling those kids."

"Oh."

Then, their conversation died. Aomine still had his whole attention fixated on the laptop. Kagami chewed on his inner cheek. He couldn't think of any topic to bring up. The heavy awkward atmosphere hanging between them didn't help him either.

To his relief, the doorbell rang. It must be Kuroko, he thought to himself.

He quickly rose to his feet to answer the door, and noticed Aomine hadn't budged even an inch. He bit back the pain clenching his heart and opened the door with a forced smile.

Kuroko's blank look came into his view.

"Good morning, Kagami-kun," he bowed a little, then peered over Kagami's shoulder. "Good morning to you too, Aomine-kun."

All Aomine reply was 'Morning,' while his fingers furiously punched the keyboard with clack sound.

"I'm sorry, Kuroko..." whispered Kagami as not to let Aomine overheard it. "He's...busy. Yesterday, he suddenly brought some files with him. So, I guess, another case popped out."

"Understandable," Kuroko flashed him an understanding smile. "Shall we go, Kagami-kun?"

"Wait a sec," Kagami rounded to get his winter coat draping on the dinner chair and went back to the door. "Yeah," he answered with a small nod and stepped out of the apartment unit. Before he closed the door, Kagami paused briefly. "I'll... I'll be back before dinner."

Without glancing up at him, Aomine simply replied; "Okay."

That halfhearted reply, Kagami hated it. No, more likely it hurt him. Trying his best to mask up his sadness, Kagami faced Kuroko, smiling as broad as he could, and closed the door with a dim thud.

...

Once he'd no longer heard their footsteps, his fingers stopped dancing on the keyboard, and out of sudden, Aomine thumped the table that the coffee Kagami made spilled out and gave out a loud, long scream until his throat hurt. He buried his face in his hands, then dragged the heels of his palms to the back of his head, sinking into the couch.

This was so depressing he wanted to shoot himself.

The set of Akibarahara street fire incident's pictures, the report, Imayoshi-san's story, the gloomy atmosphere, Kagami's lost memories, Kagami's pleas, they came crushing him like a wave. He was getting stressed and stressed. How he could live like a normal human going through this agonizing ordeal was indeed a miracle. Other people would have their family registered their name to the mental hospital.

Aomine took a deep breath to calm his thundering heart. His nose caught faint coffee wafting in the air. He sat up and reached the mug at the corner of the table.

Coffee Kagami made.

It'd been awhile Kagami made him coffee. After the accident, Aomine often made it himself, trying his best to make as good as Kagami's, but it never tasted the same. It had the same bitterness and a little bit of sweetness, but he had no idea, something was missing.

Aomine took a sip, and licked his lips to focus his senses to the taste. It was good. Really good. But, somehow he felt something missing, and Aomine still had no idea what was it.

A tear streamed down into the coffee with a faint 'plop'.

He brought his knees folded up close to his chest, while tanned fingers were still curling around the warm mug, he sniffled into his folded knees.

...

_Disaster._

That sprung into his mind.

Getting kids jumped on him, a dog which had similar eyes with Kuroko's—Kuroko told him its name was 'Nigou'. Why 'Nigou'?!—running after him and somewhat his body moved by itself; running away from the dog, giving those crazy kids piggy ride, having a handful of hyperactive kids while some clung to his back, playing hide and seek (he lost and Kuroko won like a pro), having his meals stolen by some sneaky kids, and some other things he was too tired to even think about listing them up led him to a new conclusion; _kids are demons in innocent mask._

Fortunately, Kuroko had sent them to take an afternoon nap, so he could have a break. He was flicking through pages—Peter Pan story book in Japanese, he hardly could read them, so he settled by looking at the colorful pictures instead—sitting on the small pink chair when Kuroko came joining him with a pink haired lady tailing him.

"Kagami-kun, I'd like to introduce you my girlfriend, Satsuki-san."

"Oh, hello," he put down the book on the table and bowed courteously.

Kagami was so shocked and thought he'd done something wrong when he saw her cerise teary eyes. Before he could react to comfort her, she suddenly threw herself to him and gave him a crushing hug, almost burying his face in her busty breasts.

"I can't believe this!" she wailed. "I thought Dai-chan and Tetsu-kun were lying, telling me Kagamin has lost his memories. So, it had been true after all. Poor my Kagamin~! Poor Dai-chan...!"

She kept on wailing and wailing even after Kuroko had tried to comfort her. Kagami thought it was hopeless to wriggle himself free, so he ended up staying inside her crushing hug until the kids woke up and yelled at him in pure jealousy.

...

The light from the living room was already dimmed by the time Kagami had got home.

Opening the door, Aomine's sleeping face was the first thing he saw. He locked the door, toed off his shoes, sorted them into the cupboard shoes, padded to the couch and sat down by the sleeping man.

He felt pain seized him. Even in his sleep, Aomine still looked miserable. Brows scrunched up, face flushed with the white light from the laptop, visible bags under his eyes, a file still in his hand, the blanket draped on the floor instead of on his body, one leg dangling over the arm of the couch.

Kagami let out a sigh. He carefully took the file from Aomine's clutch and placed it next to the laptop, shut the gadget down, picked up the blanket and draped it over Aomine's body.

Then, he stayed watching him sleep for awhile before murmuring 'Sorry...' under his breath and going to the bedroom.

* * *

Trying to apt the changes of situation, from light atmosphere of the kindergarten, filled with laughter and playful screams to heavy atmosphere of his very own apartment, laden with deafening, endless silence wasn't an easy task.

It took him days, long chanting of soothing words, dozens of deep breaths to get used to it. But, thanks to his endurance, now he could stay sitting on the couch, breathing easily, texting Kuroko while munching on cheeseburger he'd bought earlier on the way going home from the kindergarten like nothing had happened to him.

Day by day, as Christmas approached closer and more sweets and sale commercials in bright red theme filled the break between the drama series, Kagami still hadn't seen any sign of recover of their husband-husband relationship.

Kagami kept going out with Kuroko, helping him at the kindergarten, while Aomine drowned deeper and deeper into the case that Kagami had no idea what the hell the case was, yet he couldn't summon any bravery inside him to probe the subject. The refrigerator was getting emptier and emptier, but no one bothered to point it out. Aomine often came home late, so Kagami ended up having dinner with Kuroko and his girlfriend instead.

As days had passed, their relationship had gotten worse and worse, but no one had said anything about it. Until at some point, Kagami preferred to stay with Kuroko, instead of spending more time with his very own husband.

Being with Kuroko was easy.

Like Kuroko had promised him, he never touched those taboo topics, even though Kagami knew Kuroko was fully aware of their crumbling marriage. Kuroko kept his attention away from his marriage, telling more ridiculous stories about Seirin team, about his girlfriend's attics, making him smile and laugh.

He liked Kuroko's accompany.

It was warm, so warm he sometimes forgot he actually had lost his memories.

He enjoyed listening to Kuroko's story.

He enjoyed staying with Kuroko.

He enjoyed Kuroko's patting whenever he felt depressed.

He enjoyed how easy Kuroko made him smile.

He enjoyed—

Oh.

_Oh._

The red-devil-colored IPhone in his hand fell on the plushy couch. The text he intended to send to Kuroko was accidentally saved into a draft. Kagami's jaw dropped at the newly found epiphany.

"Crap..."


End file.
